Theresa May will meet European leaders tonight to make a "generous offer" to EU citizens living in Britain.

The PM will use an EU summit dinner in Brussels to set out Britain's negotiating position on migrant rights for the first time.

Arriving at the two-day summit Mrs May said: "I'm very pleased to be here following the constructive start of our negotiations to leave the EU.

What I will set out today is clearly how the UK proposes to protect the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens in the EU."

(Image: AFP)

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Both Britain and the EU agree that getting an early agreement on what happens to the one million British ex-pats living in Europe and the three million EU citizens living in Britain must be a priority for the Brexit talks.

But clashes are looming over when the cut-off date will be for new arrivals to receive special citizenship rights; whether those rights also extend to their families; and whether EU courts will get to arbitrate in any disputes.

After the PM has addressed the private dinner she will be asked to leave the room while the other 27 EU leaders discuss their response behind her back.

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On her arrival at the summit German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Brexit negotiations are a secondary issue for her compared with driving forward the EU's own future without Britain.

"I want to say clearly that for me, designing the future for the 27 takes priority over the negotiations with Great Britain over withdrawal," she said "We want this negotiation to take place in a good spirit. We know that we will want to work with Great Britain later. But the clear focus must be on the future of the 27."

Mrs May is under mounting pressure from her own Cabinet to soften her stance on Brexit, with Chancellor Philip Hammond saying today that transitional arrangements could remain in place for four years after we leave the EU.